Devotion
by franklygeeky
Summary: One shot: KK. Adpatation from a scene in Honey and Clover J drama . If Kenshin only treats Kaoru as a friend...


This idea bounced about in my mind whilst watching Honey and Clover. Heh. Hope you guys enjoy it.

This fic shares the same context as in Honey and Clover…the Kenshingumi are students in university This is meant as a simple one-short fic because I absolutely loved the scene in Honey and Clover.

No, I don't own RK.

"Guess what I got?" beamed Kaoru as she hopped herself before Kenshin.

"What?" he asked with a smile on his face.

"Ta-da! The book you needed for reference for that paper you are doing!" she replied as she pressed the book before him.

"No way! I couldn't find this book anywhere! Not in the library or in second hand bookshops! It is a 20 year old book that has not been reprinted! Where did you get it?"

Kaoru smiled broadly at this, "the bookshop on the corner of the train station"

"You are lying! I went there and I didn't find it!"

"You didn't look hard enough"

Kenshin laughed as he reached for the book held in Kaoru's hands. However, she had quickly moved it out of his reach.

"Nope, no way are you getting it this easily. You have to promise me."

He grinned broadly at this and gave the reply she wanted to hear the most, "all right then"

"Really?" she asked, her face losing its initial haughtiness and taking on a more gentle expression.

He nodded his affirmative and smiled. The moment was shattered when his phone rang as he moved aside to take the call she noted the change in his voice, from its usual light-heartedness to a more solemn one.

"Sorry Kaoru, I will take you to dinner some other time" he said nonchalantly as he clicked his phone shut, "Kiyasato-san needs me"

"Today?" she stuttered, "But today is the dateline for handing in your paper!"

"Bye guys"

"WAIT! Himura-san! Himura-san!"

Kaoru watched his back as he fought through the rain after 1 phone call to reach her – Tomoe Kiyasato. Her heart wrenched. Why? How could he give up the one chance he had to present his paper before the Architecture Conference which he had been working on day and night for months? How could he neglect the effort she had put in to help him find that one book he required, the countless bookshops she had to pour through to hunt for it?

She had stupidly dedicated so much time after hearing his need for it during lunch yesterday to find. Yes, it had been a mere fleeting comment, a discussion meant for the dining table and nothing more. But she took it to heart, anything to help him, anything to make his dreams of having a world class conference paper.

This was not the first time he had treated her in such a manner. He would merely treat her as a friend and reserved any other special emotion for Tomoe only. She had yet to confess the long affection she had for him but really…was there a point in doing so?

She watched him dash into the rain and her eyes filled with tears as she called to him; yelling at what an idiot he was for letting it all go. What the fool he was for trying to replace the dead man who would never fade from Tomoe's heart; for trying to be by her side and for falling for her. Kaoru fought back tears that threatened to fall as their mutual friends watched a mere 2 steps behind her.

"Kaoru…"

"He likes running doesn't he? Even in the rain…"she murmured turning around to face them with a small smile, "Well, if he doesn't want it, I suppose I could sell it back to the store or give it to someone else right? No loss…no loss at all"

As she moved along the corridors heading to the next class, her mother's words of wisdom came flooding into her mind '_never fall for a man who doesn't love you_'. She finally saw the good intent behind those heartless, irrational words but now it was too late.

At night, she strengthened her resolve. Picking up the Dharma doll a friend of hers had given her last summer she made a wish and filled in one of its blank eyes.

'_I promise that I will forget everything and to move on. To stop thinking and wishing for the impossible_.'

Someday, in the near future, when that promise has been fulfilled, she would fill in the other eye. For tonight, just tonight, just the next 7 hours she would allow herself small drops of tears.

A/N: there you go yup…I made Kenshin the jerk here but just to clarify, he does have his positives here in the sense that he is 100 devoted to Tomoe.

This has got to be my most emo fic ever. Please spare any inaccurate depiction of feelings…I have never been in love (seriously, lovers kind) so I do not really know what the feeling should be or how it should be communicated across. First attempt, so constructive criticism is most welcome Spare the flames please.

With regards to the Dharma doll, it is true Japanese folklore.


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